1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information outputting apparatus and an information outputting method for outputting digital information on a video signal, an audio signal, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dealing with information on a video signal, an audio signal, or the like as digital information results in a merit that there exists none or a very little of the quality degradation in the information transferring process or the information recording/reproducing process. However, if good-quality copies of the information are created in large numbers and circulated in such a manner that the copyright holder knows nothing thereabout, and if the copying is repeated further, there occurs a problem that no profit will be returned to the copyright holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,454 has disclosed a method of attaching 2-bit copy-controlling information to information. This method, based on a will of the copyright holder or that of the information creator, selects any one of 3 alternatives to the information, i.e., “Copy Never”, “Copy Free”, and “Copy One Generation”, thereby controlling the operation of a recording apparatus. If “Copy Never” is selected, the recording apparatus performs no recording operation. If “Copy Free” is selected, the apparatus performs the recording operation. Moreover, if “Copy One Generation” is selected, the apparatus rewrites this copy-controlling information to information of “No More Copies”, thereinafter performing the recording operation.